The Systemic Lands

Chapter 207: Day 500 (2) – Research And Development

“Consumption is only viable for poisoning over a long period of time and a person would notice,” Clarissa countered.

“True. Still, concerning. Also, the amount and preparation would be hard to easily hide. So, it is a dead end?” I asked.

“For the most part. But one can gain a lot of power in a short amount of time. Get up to 500 in every stat and then be unleashed. The damage from consumption happens at the start. And by the time crystals form, regeneration is no longer possible. Doctor Katz suspects there is a correlation between the two, but no easy way to prove that theory,” Clarissa explained. I sipped my juice.

“Well good to know there are consequences. Maybe the Ritualist did himself in. You haven’t heard anything from him, have you?” I asked.

“No news about him. Nothing about Ruth or Nox as she took to calling herself either. I have had people poke around Esperanza, and there is no sign of her there. She is most likely keeping her head down somewhere, or died,” Clarissa explained.

“While people can die, we aren’t assuming that,” I said.

“I know, which is why Ruth still has her house here in Purgatory. Or at least outside the inner part of the city. When she dies, ownership will be lost. So we know she is still alive,” Clarissa explained.

“Can’t you check with the Rod of Control and its functions?” I asked.

“No. You can ban dead people from the store. Building ownership is one of the few ways to confirm if someone is dead or alive. Her buying a building in Purgatory is a mistake. Without the Rod of Control, we will always know that she is alive,” Clarissa explained.

“Good thinking. So, she is still out there, how annoying. Is there a bounty?” I asked.

“A hundred thousand for concrete information. Half a million for her head. Got some fake or misguided reports, but no concrete leads,” Clarissa said.

“How did two people just disappear? Well, they better be hiding really well after I do my exploration loop. No more hiding in another city. If the Ritualist and Ruth are out there and not dead, I am going to get them,” I reaffirmed the vows in my heart to kill both of them.

I honestly didn’t know if I just wanted them to have died and disappeared. It seemed unlikely, but the Systemic Lands were incredibly dangerous. One mistake with a level 4 monster and they could easily be wiped out.

“The super soldiers are now super spies for the most part. Meant to integrate into the other cities and report back to prearranged Union team that swings by the boarder of the level 1 zone of the city at a predetermined time. This is for all cities,” Clarissa said.

“A spy network, really? That is impressive,” I replied. It honestly was. People often just said spy network and waved their hands. But the logistics of setting one up was not simple in the slightest.

“Esperanza, is pushing out to the level 2 zones around the city. Heaven is just touching on level 2 zones. Heaven is being called-“

“I don’t want to know. It is Heaven officially. The Ritualist earned the right to name a city he took in blood and sweat. Also, changing the names on our end is just confusing. The city was introduced as Heaven, it keeps that name,” I said. Sure, it was called something else before, which I had forgotten, but that didn’t matter.

If the city wanted a name change, they would have to earn it, like the Ritualist. Make me pay attention and not die. Also, constant name changes would be annoying and lead to confusion.

“I guessed as much, since we have still labeled as Heaven in our reports,” Clarissa said.

“So super spies?” I asked, noting that she hadn’t elaborated more.

“It makes people capable enough to transverse level 2 zones, survive in a city, and win in a fight. Right now, I have a team of three people in each city, each around four to five hundred stat points each,” Clarissa said.

“Any plans for more?” I asked.

“Not any plans right now. That is twelve people out of an initial batch of twenty. There is a risk that they could go rouge, but we have enough people with stats to match them, it isn’t a serious concern,” Clarissa said.

“No one on the guard around here?” I asked.

“They got their stats from collecting points and killing monsters. I recruit people out from the RMPF, who want a slightly higher pay,” Clarissa said.

“And Smith allows that?” He was the current general of RMPF.

“Gerold would have been tougher, but I am the Chief Administrator. I can poach just about anyone I want to. We also offer better food, fresh bread and juice goes a long way,” Clarissa said. I nodded at that as I sipped my juice.

“No pay raise?” I asked. If she took another one I wouldn’t be happy.

“No. No side businesses with income funneling to me either. I know you Michael, it is about the spirit of a deal, not the letter. I get paid well enough. Hence the last pay raise,” Clarissa explained. That was good to hear. While I trusted her, I didn’t want her to think she could try and replace me. I would have to look through the accounting books later. That would be barrels of fun.

“Send the accounting books to my room. I could use some reading,” I said. Trust but verify.

“No problem. You can take them right from my office here. Tax revenue is only updated every five days,” Clarissa explained.

“That is fine. No one trying anything to get around the tax?” I asked.

“No. Arresting and then executing Laura sent a pretty strong message, no one is above taxes. I also spread around that people sitting on the Immortal Council don’t pay taxes,” Clarissa said.

“Good. Hopefully there are some applicants soon. It is frankly ridiculous that people are taking this long to get to the point they can a kill a level 4 monster,” I complained.

“Well, you clearly explained the danger and the step up in difficulty. The people who would have made an attempt are hesitating now. Gertrude’s death sent the message that fighting level 4 monsters is incredibly dangerous,” Clarissa said.

“And of course, Darwinism wins out. The people left alive are the cautious ones. Since there is a very low benefit to high risk for fighting a level 4,” I said.

“Exactly. This does raise the question of a tax on level 3 crystals. Union teams are trying to get to that point, to avoid the taxes on level 2 monsters. That is where the attrition has been occurring, or my best guess. Dead people, tell no tales,” Clarissa said.

“Not having a tax on level 3 crystals is fine. People need stats to fight them and transverse level 3 zones regardless. It will motivate people to improve. We put a tax on level 3 crystals, it isn’t worth the headache. We can revisit the issue in the future,” I decided without any hesitation.

“There have been minor organizational changes to how the city is run, but nothing major. We can cover most of it when we do a walk around. What we need to discuss is the research into summoning,” Clarissa said. I waved my hand for her to continue.

“There is bleed through in terms of aggressiveness from monsters. The higher the monster, the more bleedthrough is occurring,” Clarissa said.

“Bleed through, you mean through the tether?” I asked.

“Most likely. That is what Doctor Katz suspects. We know that energy is physco reactive. But the exact mechanisms operate on principles that we don’t know about. We can only look at the effects and guess,” Clarissa explained. I knew all of that.

“The aggression? How bad is it?” I asked. That was the important issue and something very important to understand.

“Not bad. But there was noticeable trend. The more summons, the worse the effect is. After ten summons, that is when there are issues. Nothing from the hybrids, but much more tactile feedback and pain feedback,” Clarissa explained.

“So regular summons, mental effects, hybrids, pain and being overwhelmed. The Ritualist appears to be an exception,” I observed.

“He was aggressive, but made peace once cornered. More aggression doesn’t mean stupid. Negative energy sensing hasn’t been pushed to extremes. With consumption also having issues, it is the only thing that doesn’t appear to cause issues,” Clarissa stated and I nodded at that, deep in thought.

“The other cities under Sam and Gerold, they aren’t using hybrids?” I asked.

“No. They also aren’t producing their powder, but I don’t know how much longer the secret will keep. I suspect they are waiting to break it out once things get bad,” Clarissa explained.

“With our preparations, it isn’t a huge concerned, but I don’t want a drug trade. We control the drugs, there is negative energy training for the public still?” I asked.

“For a fee. Many people go through it for a fee. The profits fund the research lab that has been set up,” Clarissa answered.

“What else? There must have been more developments?” I asked.

“Only engineering solutions for summoning, to quickly and easily make a summoning circle with the minimal amount of powder. I have one here,” Clarissa said and got up. She went over to her a desk and brought over a metal contraption.

It was a square plate with two circular grooves around the outside and place to put a crystal in the center. “Fill up the grooves to the level of the plate, that is the minimum required with a five percent margin built into it. Going right to the edge of what was needed caused too many failures.”

It was a simple solution. The best solutions often were. Also, a plate like this would be easy to reuse over and over. I looked it over. It was deceptively simple.

“Any progress with the spiral design from the Recycling Center?” I asked.

“The trouble has been minding a way to activate a spiral. For circles you just poke them. And the Recycling Center has a pillar to use. But in practical terms, one can push energy into a spiral of crystal powder and the stuff just turns to dust with no effect,” Clarissa explained.

“All the combinations?” I asked.

“Of course. A spiral seems to dissipate the energy, while a circle contains it. Unfortunately, even when copying the exact ratio inside the Recycling Center, it just disperses energy. Nothing to collect it. We have tried spirals in circles, but no results so far. We are focusing on food development at the moment,” Clarissa explained.

“Food development. What about bombs? Weapons! Combination hybrids!” I started to raise my voice. The buttered bread was nice, but I wanted weapons. I couldn’t kill a golem with buttered bread.

“We can change focus if you want, but the enchantments and potions aren’t cost effective at the lower levels,” Clarissa said. I frowned at that.

“Why?” I asked, since there had be a reason why Clarissa chose food over weapons.

“To get the economy going. We control butter production. Individual people won’t have the time, resources, or energy to process and make food products. Those points flow back in our coffers,” Clarissa explained. I shook my head at that. I could see what she was trying and I didn’t like it.